(Legal Newsline) — A former vice president of human resources has sued Planned Parenthood Great Rivers and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers-Missouri alleging she was fired in retaliation for reporting what she believed was an unauthorized abortion and for taking medical leave and seeking an accommodation for foot and back conditions.
Jacqueline C. Colyer filed the complaint Aug. 21 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The complaint alleges wrongful discharge and whistleblower violations under Missouri law, disability discrimination and retaliation under the Missouri Human Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and interference and retaliation under the FMLA. The allegations in the complaint have not been proven in court.
Colyer, a St. Louis County resident, was hired as vice president of human resources on Sept. 26, 2022, according to the filing.
Her annual salary was $135,200. The complaint says she sought a raise in March 2024 and was told by Richard Muniz, then interim president and CEO, general counsel and chief compliance officer, that a raise would be appropriate once Human Resources assumed payroll duties in July.
The lawsuit centers in part on an allegation involving Planned Parenthood’s Fairview Heights, Illinois, facility.
Colyer alleges she learned in early 2024 from another employee of an after-hours abortion performed there on a Sunday in 2022. According to the complaint, the procedure was alleged to have involved a patient who was around 28 weeks pregnant.
The lawsuit characterizes the procedure as unauthorized and illegal; it also states that Illinois law governs conduct at the Illinois facility and quotes a standard permitting post-viability abortion care when, in a health professional’s judgment, it is necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.
On July 10, 2024, Colyer anonymously reported the alleged incident through the organization’s third-party ReportIt system, the complaint says.
She asked that an investigation examine camera footage and after-hours key-fob access. A second anonymous ReportIt complaint concerning the same incident was submitted July 31, according to the filing.
Colyer alleges she was removed from the investigation after submitting her report, despite the organization’s policies assigning investigations of such tips to the vice president of human resources and general counsel.
Muniz allegedly conducted the inquiry and later found no misconduct. Colyer also alleges that she reported the matter directly to Sheila Greenbaum, president of the organization’s board.
Fourteen days after her ReportIt submission, Colyer received a first written warning alleging insubordination and dishonesty over the process used to request a raise, the complaint says.
She alleges it was the only written discipline she received during her employment.
The filing also says Colyer notified Muniz in August 2024 that she would likely need leave under the FMLA and ADA because of foot and back pain.
She began approved leave Sept. 12, 2024, and the leave was later extended through Dec. 9, according to the complaint.
During that period, Colyer alleges that the organization disconnected her work access, a departure from its normal practice for employees on FMLA leave, and contacted her about retirement-plan documents.
Colyer submitted fitness-for-duty paperwork and requested flexible work hours on Dec. 3, 2024, so she could attend physical therapy and follow-up appointments through Jan. 6, 2025, the lawsuit says.
She returned to the office Dec. 9 and was fired that day.
Muniz allegedly told her that she was “not a good fit,” and pressured her to sign a separation agreement that included a waiver of claims. The complaint says her position was immediately filled.
Colyer obtained new employment in March 2025 at an annual salary of $115,000, which the complaint says was $48,200 below her 2024-25 base salary of $163,200.
The filing says she later received right-to-sue notices from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and has requested a jury trial.
The suit seeks more than $25,000 overall and requests back pay, front pay, lost benefits, emotional-distress damages, liquidated damages under the Family and Medical Leave Act, punitive damages, attorney fees, costs and reinstatement or front pay instead of reinstatement. She is represented by Trevion McGhaw of Straight Talk Legal and Zachary M. Brand of Brand Injury Law.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri case number: 4:26-cv-01344